


Soar

by Redpanda18



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angel Powers, Angel Wings, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-13 05:14:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10506999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redpanda18/pseuds/Redpanda18
Summary: Sakunami is a guardian angel who's had his fair share of tough cases. Every human he's been assigned to so far has taken his presence...not too well. But when Sakunami is assigned to the excitable Koganegawa, he finds himself becoming attached to the human. Will Sakunami be able to complete his mission or will the unexpected stop him?





	1. A New Kind of Mission

**Author's Note:**

> All the angel rules and facts in this story are made up just for this work.

Sakunami is a typical guardian angel. He has plain white wings that stretch a foot beyond his arm span on either side and a gold halo that he chooses to hide most of the time. Sakunami can deal with his wings, what he can’t deal with is the halo. He can’t say exactly what it is about the halo that he dislikes, all he knows is that there is a mysterious weight to it that creeps him out. So he prefers to hide it most of the time, and it isn’t like it’s a hard task, all he has to do is will it to go away and it does.

 

Right now he is attempting to unwind from a long mission in one of the large libraries. The library he is in is made of white marble with several stain glass windows and a couple open ones for angels to fly in and out of. The ceiling has a large hole in the center for natural light to flood in. Sakunami is currently sitting on one of the sofas reading a book when he hears his name.

 

“Suku-kun!” a voice calls.

 

Sakunami stands and turns towards the sound of the voice. It’s Futakuchi, one of the head angles in charge of pairing guardians like Sakunami with humans. Futakuchi is flying at Sakunami at an alarming speed, his wings are flapping like mad and it’s almost amusing to see the normally composed angel so frantic. He’s weaving in between the bookcases with impressive agility. Sakunami takes a brief second to appreciate Futakuchi’s wings before he is bowled over. Futakuchi’s wings are pure white except for the gold base of the feathers where they connect to his back. They look stunning when they catch the light, and a couple seconds later Sakunami is hit with a powerful wind.

 

“Saku-kun, have you seen Aone?” Futakuchi asks frantically. He looks desperate.

 

“Sorry I haven’t yet. But shouldn’t he be by the armory? Sakunami replies while trying to regain his balance.

 

“I already checked and he wasn’t there”. Futakuchi frowns. “Maybe I’ll try the fountain” he murmurs.

 

Sakunami gives the other angel a confused look. Aone is the warrior angel that Futakuchi is always with, it’s odd not to see them together. Futakuchi sighs and pulls a gold folder out of his robes.

 

“Here’s your new assignment. I’m off to find Aone, don’t forget check in!” Futakuchi shouts quickly as he takes off through one of the open windows.

 

Sakunami is left standing on the cold marble floor holding a gold folder. He hopes his new assignment is less insane than his previous human. He accomplished his mission, but it took an extra year to complete it. Sakunami turns the folder over in his hands one more time before opening it.

 

Kanji Koganegawa are the first words Sakunami sees. Koganegawa is tall with blonde hair that has styled black fringe in the middle. He looks intimidating at first, but when Sakunami sees his face all he sees is excitement. Koganegawa’s profile picture is one with him smiling, he  doesn’t look like he needs a guardian angel at all. But then again most people who need a guardian angel are good at hiding their emotions.

 

Sakunami moves back to the sofa and quietly reads the rest of Koganegawa’s profile. He’s clumsy, Sakunami thinks that’s an odd thing to have on a profile, he has a history of being bullied, that’s important information, and his home life is unstable. Sakunami thinks something is missing. Whenever a human has unstable home life listed in their profile, there is always other characteristics listed below it like depression or an added detail like abuse or neglect.

 

Sakunami tries to ignore the negative vibe and resigns himself to wanting to help this human as much as possible. He will help this Koganegawa and hopefully he can get it done in a reasonable amount of time.

 

Sakunami closes the gold folder and gently stores it in one of the folds in his robes. He will need to change before he goes down to Earth to meet Koganegawa. He needs normal clothes in case of the emergency that he will need to blend in with other humans. He’ll also need to hide his halo like most angels do, but that won’t be a problem since he hides his most of the time anyway.

 

Sakunami unfolds his wings and gives them a quick stretch before taking off and flying through one of the open windows. _Time for a new mission!_

  


***

 

It’s almost midnight by the time Sakunami has found the right clothes and located Koganegawa’s home down on Earth. He ended up choosing a loose dark green jacket which he currently has zipped up all the way and jeans. The jacket is big and tight enough to keep his wings concealed as well as tucked in close to make him look like a normal human but loose enough that it isn’t painful.

 

Sakunami checked in right before he left. Check ins for guardian angels are extremely important. Guardian angels need to recharge their powers every other day in order to stay healthy, if they don’t then they begin to deteriorate. A guardian's wings get duller each day until the guardian checks in. The effects of not checking in usually set in about two hours after the angel hasn’t recharged. The effects begin with extreme lethargy then feathers begin to fall out, once all the feathers are gone the angel dies. The check in building is the second largest in Heaven, it needs to be because guardian angels are the most common. To check in all a guardian angel needs to do is fly in and wait until their wings are white again. Guardian angel wings usually have an intense glow right after the angel recharges.

 

Sakunami hopes the glow of his wings isn’t too bright, someone might find a random light in a tree suspicious. He can hide himself and his wings themselves from sight but not the effects of his wings. Sakunami leans back further into the tree he’s perched in to conceal himself more. The leaves provide a nice cover but the branch he is currently on is a bit shaky. But it should do until morning. The tree he’s in is just outside Koganegawa’s open bedroom window. Sakunami could technically fly right in and introduce himself right now but he doesn’t want to startle Koganegawa. He has plenty of time, he can afford to wait until morning.

  


***

 

Sakunami is awoken by the sound of a bird chirping right in his ear. He is so startled that he pitches backwards and slips off his tree branch, letting out a quick yelp. In a panic to save himself he tries to open his wings and fly back up but forgets his wings are tucked into his jacket and tumbles onto the grassy ground. He prays that no one heard his fall, that would be the worst first impression.

 

Sakunami stays on his back, looking up at the sky for a few seconds before standing up and brushing himself off. His wings are a bit sore from falling on them but nothing is broken so he figures that’s a good sign.

Sakunami glances back up at Koganegawa’s open window and takes a deep breath. He needs to introduce himself soon, this is always the most difficult part for him. Every human he’s had so far has had a bad reaction to him. It’s not even like he’s a demon or anything, he’s a tiny angel that doesn’t look the least bit threatening, at least he thinks so. But Sakunami supposes he would be scared too if an angel suddenly appeared before him. Most people think angels are fake so they believe they are hallucinating when they see him.

 

Sakunami hears the click of lamp turning on. He watches Koganegawa’s bedroom flood with artificial light and suddenly a figure is standing in front of the window. Koganegawa’s eyes lock onto Sakunami and he cocks his head. His hair is sticking up in all different directions and there are bags under his eyes but he doesn’t look the least bit phased at the sight of a random stranger outside his window.

 

“Can I help you?” Koganegawa yawns.

 

Sakunami is rooted to the spot, he can’t seem to move nor speak. But eventually he finds enough strength to come up with what he hopes is a coherent answer.

 

“A-actually I’m here to help you” Sakunami manages to stutter.

 

Koganegawa looks confused. He rubs his eyes and then leans farther out the window to take a better look at Sakunami.

 

“Do I know you?”

 

“Um, no not really. But I know you...not-in a creepy way!” Sakunami scrambles to correct himself, or at least tries to.

 

Koganegawa frowns. He looks suspicious so Sakunami decides to just tell it to him straight. Hopefully he doesn’t freak out.

 

“I’m your guardian angel” Sakunami declares.

 

“...sorry what?” Koganegawa sounds skeptical, and he has the right to be.

 

“Hold on, I’ll prove it”.

 

Sakunami unzips his jacket and dumps it next to him in a heap on the grass. Then he stretches his wings out as far as they can go and flaps them once for effect.

 

Koganegawa is staring at his wings in awe. His eyes are as wide as saucers and he has a wide smile plastered on his face. Sakunami smiles back and finds himself relaxing at the fact that Koganegawa didn’t freak out after learning Sakunami is his guardian angel.

 

“That’s incredible!” Koganegawa shouts. “Can I touch your wings?”

 

Sakunami is momentarily stunned. Koganegawa has warmed up to him surprisingly fast, and it’s simultaneously frightening and exciting. Maybe Koganegawa is different from the other humans he's had.

 

“Sure” he replies easily.

 

Sakunami flaps his wings and builds up enough momentum to hover above the ground before flying up to Koganegawa’s window and perching on the closest branch. He sits right in front of Koganegawa so that they are face to face, but not too close.

 

Koganegawa reaches out his right hand and gently runs his fingers along the top of Sakunami’s left wing. He slowly moves his hand down and feels the side of Sakunami’s left wing where the feathers are the most white.

 

“They’re so soft” Koganegawa remarks in a whisper.

 

The two sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Koganegawa retracts his hand. Sakunami finds that he misses Koganegawa’s fingers running through his feathers but doesn’t dwell on it too much. He ends up speaking first in order to prevent the situation from becoming awkward.

 

“I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Sakunami Kousuke and I’m your guardian angel”.

 

Koganegawa smiles. “My name is Koganegawa Kanji, but you probably already know that. And you can just call me Kogane” Kogane enthusiastically responds.

 

“Alright Kogane”.

 

“So now that you know my nickname, can I call you Saku-kun?”

 

 _That was fast._ Sakunami raises an eyebrow but nods. Futakuchi is the only one who has ever called him by that name but he supposes Kogane can use it.

 

Kogane looks like an excited puppy and Sakunami lets out a small laugh. Kogane is truly different from any human Sakunami has ever had.

 

“So Saku-kun, are you going to follow me around from now on?” Kogane asks.

 

“For the most part. I’ll only jump in if you need me, but yeah I’ll just follow you around”.

 

“Am I the only one who can see you?”

 

“Kind of, I chose who gets to see me and right now it’s only you. But I can allow others to see me if I need to, though that’s highly discouraged” Sakunami explains.

 

“Hmmm. So how long will you be around?”

 

Sakunami takes a minute to reply. Kogane asked a pretty difficult question and Sakunami isn’t entirely sure how to answer it properly.

 

“Honestly I don’t know. It just depends on how long you need me. Each case is different. I’ll stay with you until you no longer need my help”.

 

“How can you tell when I no longer need you?” Kogane questions. “What if I need you even when I’m all old and can’t even remember my own name?” Kogane’s breathing is starting to pick up as he continues to ask questions.

 

Sakunami finds Kogane’s rambling kind of endearing but he also needs to calm the human down before he starts hyperventilating.

 

“Kogane. I will stay for however long you need me. I meant what I said. Even if that means for the rest of your life, though I doubt that will happen because you seem like the type to bounce back quickly.”

 

Sakunami’s answer seems to pacify Kogane and he settles down. The sound of running water cuts through the silence and suddenly Kogane is scrambling towards his bedroom door.

 

“Oh no! I’m gonna be late for school!”

 

Sakunami watches Kogane as he rushes out of his bedroom only to come stumbling back in to grab his uniform. Kogane is almost finished buttoning his shirt when he pauses and whirls around. His eyes are panicked.

 

“Where did I put my tie?”

 

Sakunami glances around the room and spots a tie right below the windowsill. He reaches down and grabs it, inspecting it once before dangling it in front of him at arm’s length.

 

“Are you looking for this?”  
  
Kogane sighs in relief and takes the tie from Sakunami. He quickly puts it on and grabs a backpack sitting next to the messy bed. Kogane swings one strap over his shoulder and makes his way towards Sakunami where he proceeds to swing one leg out the window.

 

“What are you doing!?” Sakunami shouts. He reaches out and grabs both of Kogane’s shoulders before Kogane can hoist himself all the way out.

 

“Don’t worry Saku-kun! I do this all the time”.

 

“That doesn’t make me feel better! Why don’t you use the front door?”.

 

“Ah, well you see...I’ll tell you later we really have to go” Kogane finishes.

 

The sound of running water has stopped and footsteps can be heard pounding down the hallway. Kogane looks at Sakunami once before hoisting himself all the way out and jumping.

 

Sakunami jumps off his own tree branch and dives down a split second later to try and catch Kogane before he hits the ground. He barely makes it in time to loop his arms under Kogane’s and pull back up to slow their fall. Sakunami’s wings beat down forcefully with each flap as he strains to hold Kogane up.

 

Sakunami feels Kogane’s feet gently touch the ground and knows he can let go. Kogane is staring at him when Sakunami finally looks down at him. Sakunami remains hovering a few feet above the ground, wanting to be ready in case Kogane decides to do something reckless again.

“Sorry. I know you may have done that before but you scared me when you suddenly jumped.” Sakunami apologizes.

 

“It’s ok Saku-kun. If it makes you feel better I’ll let you fly me down from now on!” Kogane relies cheerfully.

 

“I’d like it if you were a little less reckless” Sakunami suggests.

 

Kogane simply grins and starts sprinting across the yard and down the sidewalk.

 

“Hey wait!” Sakunami shouts as he flies after the excitable human.

 

All he gets in return is a laugh and a “Come on Saku-kun you’re losing right now!”

  
As Sakunami chases after Kogane in the early hours of the morning, he finds himself believing that he’ll actually enjoy this mission.


	2. By My Side

It’s been six months since Sakunami first met Kogane. He remembers how they first met vividly, it’s an experience that he will never forget. Sakunami likes to think that he knows Kogane pretty well by now. He’s learned many things about the other boy that have gotten him even more attached.

 

When Sakunami first encounters Kogane’s bullies from his middle school days, the two of them are simply heading home from school one day. Sakunami knew Kogane had a past with bullies but he wasn’t expecting to have to deal with them. He thought he would be dealing with nightmares about being bullied or something like that. So when he sees Kogane being surrounded by a gang of tall high school boys he is shocked, but doesn’t hesitate to teach them all a lesson. 

 

After that incident the other boys learned to stay well away from Kogane, especially on windy days. And Sakunami learned a new skill. He found that he can actually help humans fly...well sort of, if launching them into the air by rapidly flapping his wings qualifies as flight.

 

Kogane also became much more open with his peers after that day. And Sakunami can proudly say he took part in that liberating moment.

 

While most of their days were relatively peaceful with Sakunami beside Kogane, there were still some problems left to solve. 

 

Occasionally Kogane would get dragged into his parent’s fights about money or some other issue. When that happened Sakunami stood even closer to Kogane and made sure to put a wing in front of him just in case things got violent. Of course he couldn’t entirely shield Kogane with his small wings so Kogane did have to see and hear most of the fights. But Sakunami was always there to talk Kogane out of his slump after those fights. And Kogane bounced back quickly which Sakunami thought made him very resilient.

 

“Saku-kun what are you thinking about?” Kogane asks casually.

 

Sakunami didn’t realize he had been reminiscing for that long and quickly tries to come up with an answer.

 

“Just thinking. I was actually wondering about your parents”,   
  
Kogane is silent for a long moment. They haven’t actually had a proper conversation about his home life before. Sakunami knows this is hard for Kogane and waits patiently. He doesn’t want to rush him but he knows they have to have this talk eventually and now seems right.

 

“My parents are...complicated. At least I think so” Kogane finally says. “They got married right after high school and thought they could support themselves. But obviously they were wrong. And just when they were starting to figure out that divorcing was probably for the best my mom found out she was pregnant."  Kogane inhales deeply and leans back into the tree. 

 

The tree outside Kogane’s window has become their favorite hang out location. Sakunami nods, signalling Kogane to continue when he’s ready.

 

“Well my mom’s parents said she couldn't divorce because a baby made the marriage permanent. She told my mom that if she divorced she would no longer give my mom money. So my mom stayed with my dad to support the baby even though she now resented her mom and didn’t love my dad anymore. And that baby isn’t even me, that was my sister.” Kogane explains. He looks conflicted, like he can’t decide who is the most unfortunate in this whole ordeal.

 

Sakunami is shocked to say the least. He didn’t know Kogane had a sister, it wasn’t listed in his profile. But it does make sense, all his parent’s fighting can’t be just about money.

 

“Anyway,” Kogane continues. “A couple years after my sister is born my dad falls in love with another woman. And my mom finds out she is pregnant with me. My parents have the worst timing. My dad gets the same threat from his mom that my mom got from hers so they stay together even though both of them aren’t in love anymore. I’m born and they are still together through obligation. My parent’s only drag me into fights because I am proof that they have to stay together and reassurance that they get money” Kogane finally finishes. He’s closed his eyes by this point to try and compose himself.

 

Sakunami places a hand on Kogane’s leg to let him know he’s there. Kogane opens his eyes and gives him a small smile.

 

“My parents have never hit me Saku-kun,” he adds. “The most they’ve done is yell at me. And most of the time they just want my presence in their fight so they keep their anger directed at each other. Oh, and my sister left once she turned eighteen. She raised me while my parents were working, but once she left…” Kogane trails off.

 

“You and your sister sound like you were very close. And I’m sure she still loves you. So even though she’s not here right now I know she’s thinking about you. You’ll see her again” Sakunami says confidently.

 

“Thanks Saku-kun” Kogane whispers back. It’s not as loud or cheerful as normal but it still has life to it and that’s the important part.

 

A warm breeze blows through the tree and ruffles Sakunami’s wings and Kogane’s hair. They are pretty high up off the ground so the breeze is relatively strong. Sakunami stretches his wings once. They’re still a bit sore from hiding them in his jacket. He’s been trying to blend in with the humans more so he can be closer to Kogane and hopefully understand him better. If understanding Kogane means revealing himself to other people and cramping his wings, he’d gladly do it a thousand times over.

Sakunami is almost asleep on his own tree branch when Kogane speaks up.

 

“What are check ins? You always tell me right before you leave to do them but you’ve never told me what exactly they are” Kogane comments.

 

“Oh. I guess I haven’t. Well checks ins are pretty much exactly what they sound like. Guardian angels check in every other day to recharge their powers. We fly up to heaven and go into this giant marble building until our wings are white again. When our wings are white again we know that we are totally recharged, and angel wings usually glow very bright after a check in” Sakunami explains.  

 

“Wow, I didn’t know you had to recharge your powers” Kogane remarks in awe. “So what happens if you don’t check in? Do you like spontaneously combust?”.

 

Sakunami laughs. “No, not that,” he suddenly turns serious. “If we don’t check in the first symptom is becoming extremely tired. Then we start to lose our feathers, once all our feathers are gone we die. Angel feathers are extremely rare and valued, that’s another reason we try to keep up with check ins. If someone gets their hands on too many angel feathers then they can accumulate a lot of power and use it for destruction”.

 

Kogane’s eyes widen. He seems to understand the gravity of what Sakunami just told him and is actually taking it pretty well. Kogane sits up and turns towards Sakunami, Sakunami does the same so they are face to face and looking each other in the eyes. Just then, Kogane leans in so his nose is only an inch away from Sakunami’s. His eyes are determined and Sakunami feels like he’s the one being protected by an angel right now.

 

“I will  _ never  _ use your feathers for evil” Kogane whispers. Even though his voice is quiet Sakunami can feel the power behind his words.

 

“I believe you” he replies with a smile.

 

Kogane pulls back and returns to his position of leaning against the trunk of the tree. Sakunami feels strangely calm right now. Being with Kogane has been interesting and exciting. Even the tough moments have value to Sakunami. He’s never felt such a strong attachment to a human before, but he thinks he likes it. With that thought in mind, he allows himself to relax into the tree and drift off to sleep. 

  
  


***

 

Two months have passed since Kogane told Sakunami about his family. Now that Sakunami knows about Kogane’s family he feels more connected to Kogane and is able to talk him out of his slumps easier. Of course his parents still fight, but Sakunami has found that the fights are less heated now and they try not to involve Kogane too much. Maybe it’s because Sakunami encouraged Kogane to talk to his parents more, but really it could anything. All he knows is that communication is good for relationships.

 

The small angel is currently splayed out on Kogane’s bed. His eyes are closed so it appears that he is asleep, but he is anything but that right now. Sakunami’s mind is racing through memories of Kogane at lightning speed, like it can’t decide which one to replay.

 

The pounding of harsh shower water echos throughout the house. Sakunami has long figured out that Kogane likes the feeling of harsh water when he showers. He says it’s like a massage on his sore muscles, Sakunami doesn’t question it.

 

Sakunami opens his eyes and glances around Kogane’s room. It’s messy like always. Clothes litter the floor and his desk has about a million pieces of crumpled paper on it. The lamp is turned off right now so the only light in the room is the natural rays of the morning sun flooding in from the window. Kogane’s bed is the only decently clean place in his room. The covers are a bit messed up since Kogane just got up, but there aren’t any dirty clothes or empty bottles on it. 

 

Right now Kogane’s room is a tranquil escape from the busy world outside. It’s a Saturday so they don’t have to go to school which makes this moment even sweeter. Sakunami can just lie here and relax for the rest of the day.

 

Before Sakunami drifts back off to sleep he sits up and stretches his wings out. They became cramped after having slept on them for too long. Sakunami’s right wing accidentally hits the desk next to Kogane’s bed and knocks a couple papers off of it. The impact also shook the desk’s contents alerting Sakunami that there is something inside one of the drawers.

 

_ That’s weird. I didn’t think he put anything in here.  _ Sakunami hops off the bed and tucks his wings in to prevent further destruction before opening the top drawer. It’s empty except for a single pill bottle. 

Sakunami picks up the bottle and inspects the outside. There is no label on it so he has no idea what the pills are for. Nothing was listed in Kogane’s profile about medication so Sakunami is extremely confused. In a moment of confusion he decides to call Moniwa, one of the healer angels. Sakunami pulls out one of his feathers and pictures Moniwa in his head. A second later his feather is glowing and Moniwa’s voice is coming through loud and clear.

 

“Sakunami? Is everything ok?” Moniwa’s concerned voice calms Sakunami down enough to ask his question.

 

“Yeah everything’s ok. I just have a question about some pills I found” Sakunami replies.

 

“Of course! What do the pills look like?”   
  
Sakunami holds the bottle closer to his face and observes that the pills are a dark orange.

 

“They’re dark orange”.

 

“Dark orange?” Moniwa’s asks, his tone dropping.

 

Sakunami feels his nerves spiking at Moniwa’s change in tone. Something is very wrong and he’s becoming frightened. 

 

“Yes” Sakunami confirms.

 

“What shape are they?”

 

It’s almost impossible to tell what shape the pills are from the opaque outside of the bottle. But Sakunami can tell that they are triangles.

 

“They’re triangular”.

 

There’s a long pause and the sound of shuffling papers before Moniwa replies.

 

“I just confirmed my suspicions, the pills you are looking at right now are angel suppressants” Moniwa states calmly.

 

_ What? _ Sakunami grips the pill bottle so tight his knuckles are turning white.  _ Why would Kogane need angel suppressants?  _ Sakunami knows he is in denial. He knows why Kogane would need angel suppressants but he just can’t believe it.  _ Why? How could he? _

 

“Sakunami? Please say something!” Moniwa sounds panicked on the other end.

 

“I’m sorry” Sakunami manages to whisper before he clenches his left fist around his feather and snaps it.

 

The tip of his normally white feather has turned an ugly shade of gray. He needs to check in soon. If one feather looks this bad then his wings most look terrible. Sakunami knows he needs to move, he needs to check in before it’s too late. But a crushing weight is holding him down and Sakunami feels himself sinking to the floor, the pill bottle still clutched in his right fist. 

  
  


***

 

When Kogane wakes up Sakunami is still asleep. He looks peaceful all curled in a nice ball with his wings tucked neatly against his back. He’s wearing a plain dark green t-shirt instead of the jacket he normally does because he knows Kogane likes his wings. Now Sakunami only wears the jacket when he needs to hide his wings from other people. Kogane smiles and decides to let the angel sleep, so he gets up as quietly as he can and heads towards the bathroom. Before he steps out into the hallway he glances behind him and notices that Sakunami has already spread out and taken up the entire surface of the bed. It’s kind of cute.

 

Just as Kogane turns on the shower he feels something pulsing in the pocket of his pajama shorts. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a sleek black feather. The feather is producing a dim light that means someone is trying to contact him. Kogane holds the feather in front of him and mentally accepts the call.

 

“Hello?” he whispers.

 

“Koganegawa”

 

Kogane flinches. It’s his boss.

 

“Yes?” he replies, hesitant. 

 

“Do you have that guardian angel?”

 

“I do” Kogane answers reluctantly. He feels terrible for lying to Sakunami, but he had to. And he knows he’ll feel even worse for what he’s about to do.

 

“Good. We’re on our way. Don’t let it escape. We’ll be there in five minutes” Kogane’s boss orders, always short and to the point.

 

“Got it” is Kogane’s feeble response. He hopes his boss didn’t hear that.

 

Only a couple seconds after his boss is done speaking Kogane’s feather snaps in two and disappears in a black smoke.

 

Kogane only vaguely hears the drum of the shower water he left running. All he can think about is Sakunami. He’s become so attached to the guardian angel that he forgot he had to eventually turn him in. Kogane wishes he could trade places with Sakunami. Anything would better than this.

 

They’ve been through so much together, which means this will be even more painful. Kogane rests his palms on either side of the sink to brace himself and looks in the mirror. He looks awful. His hair is plastered to his face and the bags under his eyes make him look like he hasn’t slept in years. Kogane inhales quickly when he sees that his wings are starting to grow back. He can see the tips of his midnight black wings just starting to peek out from behind his shoulders. He forgot to take his suppressants yesterday which is probably why this is happening.    
  
“No” Kogane breathes.

 

_ The angel suppressants, he left them in his room!   _ Kogane left his suppressants in the room with Sakunami.  _ What if he finds them? I don’t want him to find out this way.  _ Kogane tears himself away from the sink and rips open the door. He has to get back before Sakunami finds those pills. Kogane bolts down the hallway and comes to a screeching halt in front of his doorway where he is greeted by one crestfallen guardian angel. 

 

Sakunami is sitting on the floor in front of Kogane’s bed. It looks like he went from his hands and knees to just sitting back, his legs are tucked under him and he’s hunched over with his head bowed. Sakunami’s wings are a dull gray and sagging so much that the tops almost touch the ground. His right hand is clutching the pill bottle Kogane so desperately didn’t want him to find. It’s a heartbreaking sight and Kogane hates himself for being the cause of it.

 

Sakunami notices his presence and looks up. His eyes are glassy but he also looks hurt and angry at the same time. Kogane doesn’t move, he doesn’t speak, he can’t. Kogane watches as Sakunami rises shakily and thrusts the pill bottle in his face, his chest is rising rapidly with each breath. 

 

“When were you going to tell me? Were you  _ ever  _ going to tell me?” Sakunami asks tearfully.

 

“I didn’t want you to find out this way” Kogane replies in barely a whisper. 

 

Sakunami’s wings bristle. 

 

“How  _ did  _ you want me to find out?” he says through clenched teeth. 

 

“I-” Kogane has no response for that. He doesn’t know how he wanted to tell Sakunami. No way would have been appropriate. He couldn’t just say  _ hey Saku-kun, by the way I’m a dark angel whose mission is to capture you.  _

 

The tension in the room is palpable. But all Kogane can focus on is Sakunami’s eyes and the look of clear anguish in them. Sakunami steps back and looks at the carpeted floor. When he speaks again it’s so quiet Kogane almost misses it. 

 

“What are you?” he asks. “Because I would have known if you were a guardian angel like me. I would have been able to detect your powers”.

 

Kogane has never hated himself more than in this moment. Even after all the lying he has done, he can’t tell Sakunami this one thing about himself. If he reveals what he is to Sakunami right now then he compromises his entire mission. If only Sakunami had asked a little later, Kogane would have been able to answer. But as it is all Kogane can do is shake his head.

 

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that” Kogane apologizes truthfully. 

 

Sakunami looks up and holds Kogane’s gaze.

 

“I didn’t actually need you to tell me. I can see your black wings. They may be small because they’re still growing back but you can’t hide from me anymore. I know what you are,” Sakunami seethes. “I just needed to be sure that you don’t trust me” the last bit is laced with sorrow and betrayal. 

 

Kogane reaches out towards Sakunami but the other angel flinches. Kogane tries to conceal his hurt but he knows it isn’t working when he sees Sakunami finally start to cry. He knows the last thing Sakunami wants to do is hurt him and Kogane is so angry at himself that he caused this mess. 

 

“Sakunami-” Kogane uses his full name to try and show the other that he is serious but to no avail.

 

“Leave me alone!” Sakunami shouts, though it’s weak and his silent tears reveal more hurt than anger. 

 

Sakunami spins around and makes a break for the window. He launches himself outside and flaps his wings rapidly once his feet leave the windowsill. Kogane is hot on his heels but didn’t expect Sakunami to jump quite so quickly and can’t catch up in the end. Sakunami hovers a few feet from the window, watching Kogane for a few seconds before turning around and taking off to the sky. 

 

“Sakunami wait!” Kogane yells, but the guardian angel is already too high to hear him.

 

A flash of black catches Kogane’s attention. He jerks his head to left and spots a black cloud approaching Sakunami. Except it isn’t a black cloud, it’s Kogane’s boss and the rest of his dark angel pack. Sakunami is badly outnumbered. 

  
Kogane can only watch as Sakunami barely has time to fold his wings in on himself before he is engulfed by a sea of black feathers.


	3. Feathers

  
Cold marble is the first thing Sakunami sees when he opens his eyes. Everything is sore and all he wants to do is sleep for the rest of eternity. But he knows he has to stay awake, because the next time he closes his eyes he might not wake up.

A sudden gust of wind ruffles his wings and Sakunami flinches. _That’s not a good sign._ He tries to move his right wing and a searing pain shoots through the tip all the way to the base. It’s not broken but he definitely can’t fly, at least not without excruciating pain.

Sakunami sucks in a deep breath. _Stay calm_. Slowly, he pulls himself into a sitting position. It’s painful, but it needs to be done. Sakunami turns his head to take in his surroundings, which isn’t much.

He’s stuck in the middle of what appears to be a floating marble gazebo. All he can see is sky and clouds. Sakunami pulls his legs to his chest and very carefully wraps his wings in as close as he can. He feels completely alone. There is literally nothing he can do. His wings are pretty much useless and even if he could fly nothing seems to be close by. He wouldn’t know where to go.

Another breeze passes through the open gazebo and Sakunami doesn’t even lift his head when he sees a couple feathers fall out. They’re a dark gray now, he’s definitely going to lose all his feathers at this rate. He knows he’s going to die here, alone, so why even bother worrying. He finds himself slowly falling over until he’s laying on his side again. This time, he welcomes the cool marble as his eyes flutter shut.

  
***

Kogane frantically races through the halls of the dark angel headquarters. He’s asked everyone he’s passed if they’ve seen a small guardian angel but no one has seen one. Kogane is desperate. He has to find Sakunami before all his feathers fall out. The small guardian wasn’t in good shape when he fled Kogane’s house, and there’s no way he got better after being kidnapped so Kogane needs to find him as soon as possible.

Kogane is so wrapped up in his thoughts that he doesn’t see the angel right in front of him. He ends up crashing straight into the other angel’s back and sends them both tumbling to the ground.

“Hey watch where you’re going!” the other angel shouts as he springs to his feet.

Kogane scrambles to his feet and bows.

“I’m so sorry! I was just in such a rush that I didn’t see you. You see I’m looking for a friend, he’s a guardian angel, white wings. Have you seen him?” Kogane asks breathlessly.

The other angel's eyes widen and rushes to cover Kogane’s moth.

“Shhhh! Don’t you know? Guardian angels are forbidden here! If you’re hiding one you’re gonna be in big trouble” the other angel warns.

“Mmmm not hiding one. Looking for one” Kogane’s voice comes out muffled.

The other angel retracts his hands and wipes them on his black robes. He stares at Kogane for a second before leaning in close to whisper in his ear.

“If you really are looking for a guardian angel I know someone who can help”

Kogane nods enthusiastically. The other angel puts a finger to his lips and gestures for Kogane to follow him. Kogane follows closely behind as they wind through multiple hallways until they reach a deserted room. There’s a large open window on the far back wall and the other angel starts to walk towards it when a shadow appears behind them.

“Tanaka! What, are you doing?” A voice asks with barely concealed anger.

Kogane and the other angel, whose name is apparently Tanaka whirl around. They come face to face with an angry angel. This angel has large black wings that curl in at the ends with a few small flecks of gold. His wings are mesmerizing for a dark angel.

“Daichi! Just the man I’m looking for” Tanka bellows.

Daichi doesn’t look amused. He folds his arm across his chest and glares at Tanaka.

“Why were you looking for me?”

Tanaka visibly shrinks but he manages to finish his sentence.

“My friend here-uh” he hesitates.

“Koganegawa” Kogane finishes.

“Yeah, Koganegawa. He’s looking for that guardian angel that was brought in earlier. Apparently they’re friends” Tanaka explains.

Daichi remains stoic. Kogane can’t read him at all and he’s scared that Daichi won’t believe him and he’ll never find Sakunami.

“Koganegawa” Daichi murmurs after a while. “I don’t know what your intentions are towards that guardian angel so I can’t help you until I do”.

Kogane sighs in relief. _That_ he can explain. He just hopes Daichi believes him.

“I made a mistake. That guardian angel that was brought in was my assignment. His name is Sakunami Kousuke and he’s been with me for about eight months now. He thought I was human, he was supposed to be my guardian angel. But boss told me I needed to capture him, he needs Saku-kun’s feathers, boss think his feathers are special. At first I just went along with it, I thought turning Saku-kun in would be easy, but..I got attached. I can’t let boss have him, I don’t think I can bear to lose him” Kogane is almost in tears by the end of his explanation.

Daichi is giving him a fond look and Tanaka is shaking his head sympathetically.

“I believe you” Daichi says with a smile. “Tanaka and I are actually spies. We’ve been here for about a year trying to help other angels who have been captured and brought here. I know some angels up in Heaven that can help us out, just give me a minute”.

Daichi pulls out one of his feathers and holds it in front of him. He motions for Tanaka and Kogane to come in closer and they all crowd around the single feather. A soft light emanates from the tip and soon a panicked voice is filling the room.

“Daichi! Thank goodness! Have you seen Sakunami? I'm really worried about him he's missed check by five hours now”.

“Calm down Futakuchi. I saw Sakunami. We're just about to go get him. But I need you to bring Aone and Moniwa to the back passage” Daichi instructs calmly.

“Moniwa? How bad is it?” Futakuchi asks, voice tight.

“I don't know right now. But when I saw him earlier he didn't look too good, his feathers were a dull gray”

“...we’ll be there in five minutes” is the last thing they all hear before the feather snaps.

Kogane looks up at Daichi who reaches out and gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“Here's the plan. Tanaka you're going to wait at the back passage for Futakuchi, Aone, and Moniwa. I need to go find backup, we need all the help we can get. And Koganegawa, you will fly up to the gazebo where Sakunami is being held and protect him until we get there”

“Roger!” Tanaka shouts as he salutes.

Kogane looks down at the floor. He wants to rescue Sakunami, but he doesn't know if he's qualified enough to protect him.

“Koganegawa. You can do this. I know you feel like you aren't qualified enough to help him right now because of what you did. But trust me, you are strong enough. And even though he may reject you at first, he does want you there” Daichi encourages.

“Ok. I'll do it. I want to” Kogane states.

“That's more like it. Let's go!” Daichi announces.

The three angels take off through the open window and go their separate ways.

  
***

  
Kogane wrings his hands as he flies in the direction of the sky gazebo. They only ever use the gazebo for banishment rituals or for sacrifices. He's scared that Sakunami is dead. _No, don't think like that. He's alive and you're going to protect him._

A minute later Kogane is hovering in front of the gazebo, frozen midair.

Sakunami is lying on his side with one wing under him and one draped loosely over the top. Both wings have lost a significant amount of feathers but the one covering Sakunami looks the worst. It looks much smaller and fragile without the fluffy feathers. All that's left is the bone frame and a couple dark gray feathers in the middle. The tip of the wing is as sharp as a knife now. Sakunami’s head is resting in the crook of his elbow and his eyes are closed. Kogane fears the worst as he dives into the gazebo.

Kogane falls onto his knees besides Sakunami. The small angel isn't radiating heat like he normally does, in fact he's cold to the touch. An icy wind passes through the gazebo and takes a few more of Sakunami’s remaining feathers with it. Kogane quickly spreads his own dark wings out in attempt to block out any more wind. But he realizes he's only shielding one side of Sakunami.

“Sorry Saku-kun” Kogane apologizes as he gently gathers   
the small angel into his lap.

Kogane wraps his wings around until he's completely enveloped Sakunami. This way he's protected from the wind and heat can't escape fast. Kogane hopes this will bring Sakunami’s body temperature back up to normal.

Kogane sits with his wings wrapped around Sakunami for what must be three minutes when the other starts to stir. Sakunami's eyes flutter open and he blinks a few times. When he realizes Kogane is the one holding him he bolts upright and tries to break free. But Kogane notices him wince in pain and fall back down in defeat. He's extremely weak right now.

“Let me go” Sakunami demands in a frail voice.

“I can't do that Saku-kun. You'll die”.

“Don't...don't call me that” Sakunami’s voice is small and hurt.

“Ok” Kogane tries to keep his voice from shaking. He needs to strong for Sakunami right now.

“Why are you here?” Sakunami asks, guarded.

“Saku-ku-” Kogane stops himself and starts over. “Sakunami I'm so sorry. I can't say it enough. If you hate me that's ok, I just want you to know the truth now”.

“Ok” is the quiet response.

“Sakunami. You were my assignment. My boss told me to capture you so he could take your feathers. Apparently your feathers have special abilities. At first I thought it would be easy to capture you. After all, you were so trusting and friendly, still are. You truly wanted to help the human me. Anyway, I got attached to you after spending so much time together. I didn't want to turn you in. I didn't want you to discover what I was. But then you found my pills and my boss called right before that to see if you were still with me. I caved, I was an idiot and said yes. So when you were intercepted by that hoard of dark angels, that was my doing. Everything is my fault and I can't apologize enough” Kogane finally finishes.

Sakunami slowly flips onto his back so he can look up at Kogane. But he's still placed neatly in the dark angel’s lap.

“I'm still mad. But I forgive you, because I also got attached so I understand. Well kind of, I get the becoming attached but not the lying. Was anything you told me about your family true?”

“Most of it is true. But I just left out how me being a dark angel worked in my family”.

Sakunami rolls his eyes.

“So how did it work?”

“My sister was the only one who knew. She's actually an angel too, but I never figured out what type. My parents still don't know either of us aren't human. When I presented as a dark angel when I was five my sister went down to dark angel HQ and requested that I remain on Earth. The deal was that I could remain on Earth using angel suppressants if she did something for the boss of dark angels and I worked for the boss when I got older. She never told me what it was she had to do, all I know is that she left when she turned eighteen and I've been taking the suppressants ever since”.

“Wow, that's a lot to take in” Sakunami breathes.

Kogane hums in agreement. They lapse into a comfortable silence when the sound of giant wings flapping is heard.

“Koganegawa. Hand over that guardian angel” a deep voice commands.

Kogane pulls Sakunami closer to him and the small angel sits up so he can clutch onto Kogane’s arm.

“You can't have him!” Kogane yells over the wind.

The flapping noise increases rapidly until a massive angel eight times Kogane’s size is looming in front of the gazebo. His wings are black with red flecks and the tips are a rusty gold. They are so large that they could easily wrap around the gazebo and crush it with them in it. But that's not the most frightening part of this angel. He has blood red eyes and black flames coming off his wings. Black horns on top of his head make him look like a demon angel hybrid.

“Is that black fire?” Sakunami asks in horror.

Kogane nods. He's heard the dark angel lord’s voice countless times but has only ever seen him once. He's terrified, but he needs to protect Sakunami. Kogane unwinds his wings from around Sakunami and tries to move him from his lap to sitting against the railing of the gazebo. But Sakunami clings to arm when Kogane tries to move him.

“What are you doing! You're going to get killed if you go out there!” Sakunami yells desperately.

Kogane gently grabs Sakunami’s shoulders and looks him in the eye.

“I would gladly die for you. I want to make up for what I did, and I want to protect you like you did for me. So please, let me be your guardian angel” Kogane pleads.

Sakunami bites his lip but finally gives a soft ok. Kogane carefully leans Sakunami against the railing and gives him a huge smile before flapping his own black wings and flying out to face the dark angel lord.

 _You don't need to make up for what you did, I've already forgiven you. And I didn't even do that much as your guardian angel_ Sakunami thinks. He grips onto the railing as he forces himself to watch Kogane fight. He doesn't think he can live with himself if Kogane gets hurt. It was his job to protect Kogane, but he was happy that Kogane said he would also protect him. It goes both ways.

  
***

“Do you know what you're doing?” the dark angel lord asks angrily.

“I'm protecting a friend. And you can't have him!” Kogane shouts defiantly.

“No, what you are doing is disobeying orders. You've been loyal to me ever since you became my servant. But this guardian angel has turned you against me, he has to die!”

Kogane hovers in front of the dark angel lord for a few seconds, steeling himself, then he charges. He swoops up and grabs one of the dark angel’s horns, pulling it with him as he flies behind the other. The dark angel lord is caught off guard and falls backwards in the air, but he quickly saves himself with one flap of his wings.

“You can't take me down that easily” the angel lord taunts.

Kogane dives down and bites the angel lord’s leg. He doesn't have claws like the other dark angels so he'll uses whatever he has.

The angel lord screeches and tries to shake Kogane off. Kogane realizes this isn't really helping and let's go. He has to find the angel lord’s weakness. Suddenly, a giant wing is swinging down at Kogane, he barely dodges the attack, but he got too close to the flames of the giant wing. Kogane staggers in the air as he tries to cope with searing pain in his right leg. Black blood that looks like ink starts to seep out of the wound. Kogane clenches his teeth. He needs to avoid those flames at all costs.

Kogane swerves to the left and dives down abruptly. The dark angel simply flies down a few feet. Kogane attempts to get in closer to the angel lord’s head but the angel lord just curls one wing in front of him. Kogane doesn't even try to get closer in fear of the flames. His every move is being blocked.

Kogane feels himself drop a few feet without meaning to, he's losing more blood than he thought. He needs to come up with a plan before he's too weak to do anything. The angel lord watches him closely, probably debating how to kill Kogane. He could do it easily but Kogane knows he likes to make a show. _That's it, that's how I defeat him. If he wants a show I'll give him one._

“You think you can't be defeated?” Kogane laughs.

The dark angel narrows his eyes. “No. And definitely not by you”.

“Hmmm. Well that's a shame, because I think you'd make a great sacrifice to the gods”.

“I will never be so low as to become a sacrifice” the angel lord spits out.

Kogane keeps his eyes locked on the dark angel’s, but he looks for any sign of weakness out of the corner of his eyes. At that last comment about sacrificing the angel lord Kogane sees what he's been looking for. There's a patch on the top of the angel lord’s right shoulder where there are no flames or feathers. Riling up the other angel caused him to let down his guard and allow Kogane to locate his weak spot. It will be hard to get to because the flames surrounding his shoulder are the most intense to make up for the weak spot, but Kogane knows what he has to do now.

The wind starts to pick up and Kogane gets ready for a big gust. He’ll need to build up as much speed as he can to try and get close. But until then he has to pretend like he doesn't have a plan. Kogane zips around the angel lord, occasionally flying in close then springing away like a yo-yo.

The angel lord is starting to become impatient, he's fed up with Kogane’s annoying movements. Just when the angel lord lifts his wings to take out Kogane in one swoop, Kogane strikes. He tucks in his wings and uses the strong gust of wind that sweeps in to carry him at lighting speed towards the angel lord.

As the angel lord’s wings come swinging in at Kogane he opens his own wings and is skyrocketed upwards. Kogane quickly darts to the left and dives down, trying to mislead the massive angel. He flies underneath the angel lord’s left wing and feels some of his feathers catch fire. He was closer than he thought, but he ignores the pain and directs himself upwards towards the right. When he spins himself around he's in the perfect position. The weak spot is right in front of him, all he needs to do is get past the intense black flames and strike.

The dark angel lord has been confused by Kogane's erratic movements and is still trying to locate him. Now is his chance, Kogane plucks one of his feathers out grips it in his right hand. He pulls back a few feet before flapping his wings rapidly and accelerating quickly towards the angel lord’s shoulder. He feels his whole body catch fire as he sinks his black feather into the patch on the other dark angel’s shoulder.

Kogane jerks back as the angel lord howls in pain. He’s clutching the top of his shoulder while snarling at Kogane.

Meanwhile, Kogane is frantically spinning in circles trying to put out the fire still enveloping his wings. The rest of his body is smoking and his arms as well as his legs are oozing black liquid. But the fire still rages on, Kogane’s feathers are falling out like he’s in a pillow fight.

“Kogane! Watch out!” Sakunami screams.

While Kogane was in turmoil, the dark angel lord had composed himself and is advancing towards Kogane with a murderous glint in his eyes. The angel lord pauses just in front of Kogane who has finally managed to put the flames on his wings out.

“Say goodbye little angel” the angel lord sneers.

Kogane spins around just as the angel lord swings his wings down. Kogane is smashed with an enormous force that sends him careening downwards. He’s going so fast that his wings are glued to his side, he’s free falling to his death.

Sakunami watches in horror as Kogane is smashed out of the air. He saw Kogane’s terrified face just before he was attacked, and it was painful to see. He never wants to see Kogane like that again. Sakunami pushes himself off the railing and staggers to the edge of the gazebo. The wind is intense. Sakunami feels the wing he has left already start to catch air and his feet start to leave the ground. He lifts his head and sees the dark angel lord start to approach him.

“I’ll try and make this quick. All I need is your feathers” the angel lord remarks casually.  
  
Sakunami scowls. “You'll _never_ have my feathers, or Kogane”.

Sakunami tucks his wings in, ignores the fierce pain, and throws himself off the gazebo. Clearly the dark angel lord didn’t expect him to actually jump and is too stunned to even attempt to reach out and recapture Sakunami.

Sakunami can see Kogane just ahead of him, he’s struggling to open his wings as he tumbles through the air.

“Kogane!” Sakunami cries.  
The smaller dark angel spins himself so he’s facing Sakunami. His eyes widen.

“Saku-kun what are you doing!” he screams back.

Sakunami tucks his wings in even closer in attempt to catch up to Kogane. He reaches out a hand.

“Grab my hand!” Sakunami commands.

Kogane flails as the tries to remain facing Skunami but reaches a hand out. Their hands are so close, Sakunami’s fingers graze Kogane’s fingertips. Both of them try and stretch a little more, their hands meet a couple of times but they keep slipping and can’t get a firm grip.

Kogane’s face strains with the effort of trying to open his wings. He can only open them a couple of inches because of the speed he’s falling at. If he can just grab hold of Sakunami, then they can slow down and he can open his wings and fly them both away.

“Just...a little...more” Kogane grunts.

This time, when Sakunami's hand collides with his Kogane holds on tight.   
Sakunami flaps his one wing furiously while he pulls Kogane towards him until they are both upright. Kogane feels their momentum slow and spreads his wings. The two angels are jerked upwards like a person who just opened their parachute.

Kogane wraps an arm around Sakunami's waist and pulls him to his side as he flies upwards. Sakunami's feathers are almost completely gone. The one wing he used to help save Kogane is all bone save for a patch of feathers on the top near his shoulder.

“Hold on Saku-kun, I'll get you back up to Heaven”.

Sakunami smiles tiredly at Kogane.

“You'll be doing no such thing” the dark angel lord bellows as he flies in front of them. He looks furious. “I still need the rest of those guardian feathers. I've already collected the rest of them, I just need those last few” his tone is dark and threatening.

Kogane is about to dive down and get past the dark angel that way when an arrow comes out of nowhere and shoots the angel lord in the back. The angel lord let's out a roar as he turns in the direction the arrow came from.

“Actually, I think you'll be one backing down here” Futakuchi coldly states.

Futakuchi is standing amidst a gang of dark and guardian angels alike. Aone is to his left decked out in silver armor and a gold spear. Sakunami also spots Moniwa hovering behind Aone with Sugawara, another healer angel. To Futakuchi’s right he recognizes Kageyama and Hinata, two of the new warrior angels. Kageyama is holding a gold bow, he must have been the one who shot the angel lord. But there are two dark angels he doesn't recognize, though they must be on their side since they are with Futakuchi.

“It's Daichi and Tanaka!” Kogane yells excitedly.

 _They must be the two dark angels_ Sakunami reasons. He wonders why they're helping out the light side, not that he's complaining or anything, he's just surprised.

“Everyone spread out, Moniwa and Suga you know what to do. Everyone else, we’re taking care of this monster” Futakuchi says with a smirk.

Sakunami and Kogane watch as all the angels surround the dark angel lord and then charge in a synchronized attack. Hinata is so fast Sakunami can barely see him as he weaves in and around the angel lord. Kageyama’s accurate arrows keep the angel lord from advancing too close on them. Futakuchi, Aone, Daichi, and Tanaka attack with their handheld weapons with a force that not even the angel lord can block.

Sakunami turns his head when he feels a light tap on his shoulder. Its Moniwa, he looks extremely worried but Sakunami can see a hint of anger in his eyes. Sakunami opens his mouth to apologize but sees the older angel shake his head.

“I'm just glad you're ok. Well almost, we need to get you to check in” Moniwa says lightly.

Moniwa reaches out to take Sakunami from Kogane but Kogane still has a death grip on him. Moniwa gives them a fond smile and flies in front of Kogane.

“I promise we'll take good care of Sakunami. Will you let us take him up? And you can come too, you look like you could use it” Moniwa comments.

Suga comes flying up next to Moniwa and flashes a bright smile.

“Moniwa can take Sakunami and I'll take you...ah…” Suga flounders.

“Kogane” Kogane replies quickly.

Suga flies to Kogane’s right and puts Kogane’s arm around his shoulders while Moniwa gently scoops Skunami into his arms. The small angel didn’t look like he had the strength to even put his arm around Moniwa’s shoulders so Moniwa decided carrying him would be best.

“Ready?” Suga asks.

“Let's go” Moniwa confirms.

The two healer angels take off towards the clouds. Just as they are passing behind Daichi Kogane shouts “His weakness is the top of his right shoulder! There’s no flames or feathers there!”

All the angels in battle instantly zero in on the angel lord’s right shoulder. Kageyama loads an arrow and aims for the spot Kogane pointed out. Hinata has pulled back to hover next him and the other angles have their weapons in their hands, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Kageyama pulls back his arrow and lets it loose. It cuts through the air and is on a direct path for the angel lord’s weak spot when it bounces off.

“What?!” everyone cries in disbelief.

Moniwa and Suga turn around quickly to see what’s happening. They were almost through the clouds when they heard the collective cry of alarm.

“What happened?” Suga asks.  
Kogane peers down and sees the gang of angels exchanging confused and frustrated glances. By the look of irritation on the archer angel’s face Kogane figures his arrow must have missed.

“It looks like that angel with the bow missed” Kogane remarks.

“Kageyama? No way, he’s the best archer we have, something must have gone wrong” Suga rushes to defend Kageyama.

Kogane looks down again and sees that the warrior angels are going in for another synchronized attack. This time it’s Daichi who strikes the weak spot, and Kogane sees Daichi’s sword seem to hit an invisible force field when he attacks. _Why isn’t it working?_ Kogane thinks desperately.

“Kogane” a soft voice says.

Sakunami is barely conscious but he still looks Kogane in the eye.

“It’s you. Your feather was the only thing able to pierce his weak spot, I saw you do it earlier. It has to be you”.

“I-I can’t. I don’t think I can get past his flames again” Kogane stammers brokenly.

Sakunami smiles.

“I think I can you help you there”.

Kogane flinches when he sees Sakunami pull out one of his remaining feathers. He only has five left now. Sakunami holds the feather in his right hand and closes his eyes, the feather starts to produce a bright light and quickly starts to turn gold. The feather is still glowing when Sakunami holds it out for Kogane to take.

“This should protect you. I put the last of my powers in this, it should make a good shield. But I only had enough power to make it work once” Sakunami explains sadly.

“I only need one try” Kogane declares.

Suga makes sure Kogane is stable enough before fully letting the dark angel go. Kogane reaches out and takes Sakunami’s feather. He nods at the guardian angel, silently telling Sakunami he’ll win, and dives back down into the fray.

Moniwa feels Sakunami go limp in his arms and quickly takes off into the clouds. He has about a minute before Sakunami loses his last feather, and Moniwa does not intend to let him die.

“Don’t die on me Sakunami. You can’t just leave Koganegawa, we can all see he cares very deeply for you so don’t even think about it!” Moniwa whispers fiercely.

Time seems to slow down as Moniwa looks down and only sees two small feathers clinging to Sakunami’s wing. It’s now or never.


	4. Soaring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the very last very short chapter!

Futakuchi is at a loss at what to do. None of their attacks are working. He doesn't understand. They have both dark and guardian angels attacking right now, one of them was bound to get through. An angry battle cry pulls Futakuchi out of his inner turmoil. A dark angel is speeding towards the angel lord head on like a torpedo, his wings are tucked it but he has a gold feather in his left hand and a black one in his right. _Isn't that Kogane? I thought he was Sakunami's human? Whatever._

“ATTACK!” Kogane screams at the top if his lungs.

Every angel leaps into action. They don't quite understand the plan but they know they need to attack one spot. A flurry of white and black feathers crowd the angel lord’s vision as they all attack at one. A barrage of different weapons hit the invisible shield one by one except the last weapon.

Kogane flies in close, gold feather surrounding him with its light and blocking out the flames, and plunges his feather deep into the angel lord’s shoulder.

“This is for Sakunami!” Kogane yells as he twists his black feather in its place.

The angel lord howls in pain and suddenly the flames coming off his wings disappear. His defenses have been taken down. Kogane hears one of the other angels say attack and he quickly pulls back.

Everyone is striking from various directions. Blades hit arms, arrows lodge into wings, and claws meet legs until the angel lord freezes suddenly. He lets out one last roar before bursting into black flames. Everyone darts away to avoid getting part of them set on fire. Silence takes over for about five seconds until someone whoops.

“Oh yeah! Take that!” Tanaka cheers.

All the angels laugh. Kogane has to admit, it does feel nice finally being free of his boss. But right now he's more worried about Sakunami. He must be letting off a weird vibe or something because when he looks up everyone is staring at him.

“What?”

Daichi sighs and the angel with white feathers with gold bases face palms. Kogane is very confused. He feels a hand on his shoulder and realizes it's one of the healer angels, Suga he thinks. He thought he left with Sakunami, but that was clearly wrong.

“Go to him, we know you're worried” Suga encourages with a smile.

Kogane blinks.

“Oh my gosh. Please tell me you're not actually this dense” the white and gold angel groans.

“Futakuchi be nice” Suga scolds.

“Just go. We don't care that you don't want to celebrate right now. Honestly I would leave too...you know I _should_ just leave. Oh, but you have a lot of explaining to do later” Futakuchi warns.

This time Suga is the one that face palms. Daichi chuckles and gives Kogane a slap on the back.

“We’ll see you around. Go make sure Sakunami's ok”.

Kogane nods and follows Suga when he feels a tug on his arm. Suga must have volunteered to take him.

“I'm sure he's fine. Now let's go find him”.

“I hope your right” Kogane whispers, but he doesn't think Suga heard.

  
***

Moniwa has never flown so fast in his life. Just as he spotted the check in building Sakunami's second to last feather fell out. Moniwa about had a heart attack. And when they finally made it inside Sakunami's final feather fluttered to the ground. Moniwa thought Sakunami was gone for sure, but then the frame of his wings started to glow and white feathers started to grow back on the bones.

Sakunami had been asleep the entire way back and even a little after his wings were full with fluffy white feathers again. When he finally woke up Moniwa gave him a bone crushing hug which he gladly returned.

That was awhile ago through. Right now the two angels are resting by the fountain inside the check in building. Moniwa is sitting on the outer edge with his feet dangling over the side while Sakunami is leaning against the side on the floor with his legs in front of him. He's been watching the door ever since he woke up. Moniwa knows he's looking for Kogane. He would ask how Sakunami fell for a dark angel but figures it's complicated and decides against it.

Moniwa jumps to his feet when he sees Suga rush in with Kogane right behind him. The two angels waste no time in flying over to Sakunami and Moniwa. Sakunami leaps up and flings himself towards Kogane when he gets close enough and Kogane quickly reaches out and catches him.

Sakunami buries his head in Kogane's chest and Kogane wraps his arms around the tiny angel. They embrace for a long time until Sakunami pulls back. He looks happy and Kogane smiles. He's glad that everything turned out ok.

“I'm glad you're safe” Sakunami whispers.

“I should be the one saying that” Kogane laughs.

Sakunami sighs, but it's fond and he's grinning. He notices that Kogane's wings are back to normal and his wounds are all healed. Suga must have patched him up on the flight over. Sakunami looks up at Kogane and they hold eye contact. They don't need to say a word to know what the other is thinking.

“Ugh. Just say you love each other already” a voice complains.

Futakuchi and the rest of the angel gang has surrounded the pair. Futakuchi is rolling his eyes at them but Sakunami knows he's actually happy for them. But just to surprise Futakuchi Sakunami decides to do more than just confess.

Sakunami steps back into Kogane’s space, gets on his tip toes, and kisses the other angel. Kogane is surprised but quickly returns the kiss. They can hear cheers all around them, and right now it feel like they are soaring.

  
***

Bonus: Once the dark angel lord was defeated Daichi took over the dark angel headquarters. Dark angels have become the secret agents of the angel world, solving the tough human cases and even conflicts between other angels. They actually get along with the guardian angels now.

Kogane is one of the best dark angel agents. Sakunami continues to be a guardian angel for humans. Sometimes he even works with Kogane. The two of them have started dating. If you want details don't ask Futakuchi, he definitely doesn't anything about that, liar.

Kogane became fast friends with Hinata, they're both very excitable after all.

The angel gang that fought the angel lord still gets together. They're all close friends now. Other angels claim to have seen all of them racing each other through the clouds, but that could be anyone.


End file.
